The New Marketers (via GaWrilla)

March 26, 2010

There are a lot of people in this world who can call themselves marketers.  Marketing has been a term that has expanded to cover many facets of any business.  You can market your ideas, your business, your products, and even yourself.  Yet the word marketing is still seen by many as an extension of sales, and, therefore, a label that we try to avoid because it brings to mind the old idea of the door to door or used car salesman.  We, as marketers, have fought hard against that stigma, continually trying to redefine what marketing is.

To read the full post, click here and check out the new company, GaWrilla.

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Posted by Zach Heller

Blog Spotlight: Open Forum Offers Great Advice for Small Business Owners

July 29, 2009

logo_OPENSmall business owners are always looking for new ways to save money, market their products, talk to potential customers, find investors, etc.  Because the task of running a business is so vast, there are literally hundreds of things to take care of.  And if you can get some advice on how to handle just one of those things, it can be a great help.  And many businesses, consultancies, and experts have made a lot of money offering that type of advice for years.

When American Express decided to target small businesses, they created OPEN.  American Express Open offered new credit card services specifically designed to give small business owners what they were looking for from a credit card.  But they didn’t stop there.

More recently, American Express created the Open Forum, a blog of sorts to offer all types of information that entrepreneurs are looking for in one easy place.  The Open Forum brings together experts from many different fields, and gives straight to the point advice on such things as hiring, investing, marketing, innovation, and saving money.  Anything a business owner would want to learn is most likely sitting there waiting to be found.

They categorize their content into 7 main headings; innovation, technology, managing, marketing, lifestyle, money, the world.  It is easy to find the information that you are looking for, or just browse to see if you find anything interesting on that particular day.

This is a genius move by American Express, as it allows them to enter the social media space with a valuable offer that is perfect for their target market.  It also connects them with experts from across the business and financial world to give credibility and valuable content.

For any small business owner out there who has not checked out what the Open Forum has to offer, I recommend doing it now.  They have done a lot of work to the website recently, and they continue to produce even more valuable articles.

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Posted by Zach Heller

Some Rankings that Made My Day

July 1, 2009

As a blogger, it always nice when someone finds a way to highlight you.  It means that you are reaching people, that you are gaining respect, and that the knowledge you are trying to spread is being heard.

 

Yesterday I was directed to this site.  It is a blog ranking site and one of the categories that they ranked is Innovation.  So I gave it a look.

 

And sitting there, amongst a number of other great blogs, some of them far better known then mine, was Be Innovation.

 

Some Highlights:

 

Overall Ranking – #48

Rank by RSS Subscribers – #9

Rank by Monthly Visitors – #18

Rank by Incoming Links – #37

Rank by Technorati – #22

 

Thanks for reading and getting this blog some attention.  I appreciate it each and every day.  Post by post, I’ll continue to climb the lists.

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Posted by Zach Heller

Heritage of Innovation Podcasts

June 25, 2009

HP-LogoThis morning, I was informed of a series of Podcasts entitled “The Heritage of Innovation“.  The podcasts will feature interviews with employees of Hewlett Packard discussing various innovations and creations from over the years.

The first in the series is an interview with Dave Cochran, the product manager of the groundbreaking HP-35 calculator.  This was the first calculator that could perform all the functions of a slide rule, and it could fit in a pocket – an achievement that was incomprehensible at its time. Dave shares a lot of experiences and anecdotes about his work with Bill Hewlett and David Packard, along with stories about other team members including Steve Wozniak.

Take a moment to check them out here.

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Posted by Zach Heller

One Year Gone — June 12th Returns

June 12, 2009

cupcake1One year ago today a movement started.  One year ago today the words were uttered for the first time, Be Innovation.

It’s June 12th, 2009, marking the one year anniversary of this blog.  A lot has happened over the past year as the theme and purpose of this blog continues to grow and get stronger.

Thank you for taking the ride with me.  I hope you will continue to read as I continue to write.  I hope you will continue to believe in real change, on every level.  We can continue to spread the word of new and innovative ideas that can affect the whole world.

Invite your friends and colleagues to join us as we move into the second year and beyond.  Subscribe to receive updates via email, or add Be Innovation to your blog reader.

I wanted to end this post with links to five of the most popular posts from my first year of writing, as well as a link back to the first post published one year ago today.  Thanks again!

1.   What Could You do with 200 Million Users
2.   From Simple to Complex and Back Again
3.   13 Ways to Make Google Adwords Work for Your Business
4.   Don’t Get Caught in the Recession Trap
5.   If You’re Selling Something, then SELL It
6.   Be Innovation (The 1st Post)

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Posted by Zach Heller

Say Hello to BING Today

June 1, 2009

bingMicrosoft’s brand new attempt at building a search engine to compete with Google went live today, it’s Bing.  Try it out.

Clearly there will be much to come on the subject, but initial reports are positive.  The search engine, which was announced last week, did not get the hype that recent search engine “Cuil” got before its release, but it’s already better.

There is nothing that will really blow you away initially, but it is a solid effort all around by Microsoft to get back into the search game.  The results are good for most every search that I tried this morning.  And comparing the results for the same searches in Google varies, sometimes Bing was actually better (more accurate).

Some features that stood out to me include the recent searches tool, a video playback for all video searches, and an enhanced local search with one click map and directions.  In addition, I think the best feature is within specific categories, the sidebar becomes a tool to narrow down your search. For example, if you search local bars in New York City, you can narrow down searches based on price, neighborhood, ratings, style, etc.

Bing is currently a trending topic on Twitter, and most of the comments seem to be pretty positive.  Here is an initial review from TechCrunch, which also discusses how positive the early feedback from users has been.

All of this is before Microsoft has spent a reported $100 Million to advertise the search engine.  We will see what the campaign is all about soon enough, but the word out of the Microsoft camp is that they are going straight at Google.  Time will tell if that is a smart strategy or not, but Microsoft has to be happy by what they have seen already this morning.

Having said all that, Bing is by no means the answer to the question of where is online search headed.  It’s strange that Microsoft would invest so much in what many consider to be the end of the current search era. With companies like Google, Yahoo, and Twitter investing in the future of search (real-time solutions), Microsoft almost seems to be jumping into a game in the 4th quarter.

Nonetheless, give the new service a try.  If you have used it already, let me know what you think in the comments below.

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Posted by Zach Heller

If I Could Meet One Entrepreneur…

April 24, 2009

question_markYoungEntrepreneur is running a poll today for its readers.  The question, “If you could meet one famous entrepreneur, dead or alive, who would it be?”

For me, it’s an easy one.  I want to pick someone who built something from scratch, someone who challenged the system, and someone who continued to innovate all the way to the top.  And though it may seem somewhat obvious, I would not change my answer for anything in the world.

It’s Steve Jobs.

I have discussed the lifelong innovator before on this blog, and for good reason.  As an avid enthusiast of all things creative, I have to appreciate the work that he and Steve Wozniak did in creating Apple.  They saw something that no one else did in the area of computing.  They did what many people, even people in the industry, said was not possible and not “profitable”.  They created a personal computer that people could actually use.  And not only that, people wanted to use it.

Since then, Jobs has continued his journey with Apple at the speed of light, battling with Microsoft to gain market share over PC’s, adding the iPod to everybody’s list of must have gadgets, and successfully launching a smart phone with AT&T.

Through it all, Steve has fought his own battle with cancer.  I have great respect for Steve Jobs, and think that spending a few hours picking his brain on topics ranging from managing a growing company, to brainstorming new ideas, to successfully launching products, would be a great experience for any would be entrepreneur.

If you had to choose, who would you want to meet?  Share it with me in the comments section below, or hop on over to the real poll at YoungEntrepreneur.com and add your answer there.

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Posted by Zach Heller

Zeitgeist Addendum

April 10, 2009

Happy Friday. In my experience, Friday is a good day to take a step back from the day to day hassle of your job and think outside the box.  The following is a video that takes a look at the world through the eyes of economic conspiracy theorists.  Though I do not agree with a lot of the ideas that it is trying to perpetuate, I do think it is worth a viewing.  It gets you to examine the economic world that we live in, and the effect that our globalized economies have on our lives.

Thank you to all of my newest readers who have made Be Innovation one of WordPress.com’s fastest growing blogs in 2009.  I appreciate your continued support and welcome any comments or suggestions on how we can make this blog more useful and interesting.  Thanks!

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Posted by Zach Heller

Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going

March 30, 2009

I decided to close this month with a recap of some of the most popular posts thus far in 2009. It has been a solid three months on Be Innovation, as we have seen traffic continue to rise on a weekly basis.  Daily visitors are up 400% from what they were in December, and I have tripled the number of subscribers I had at that point.

I appreciate all of my readers, and especially thank those of you who have joined in the conversation, either through guest posts, emails, or comments.  I hope you continue to do so as we work to provide new and fresh content all the time.

For those who may have missed out on some of the most popular and discussed posts of this year, here is a short recap:

  1. Lend a Finger – This was a very meaningful post to me marking my father’s birthday one year after he passed away.  I discussed the need for charity and the fact that in today’s world, it does not take much to give back and help others.  The response I got (ie. retweets, emails, donations, linkbacks) was incredible.
  2. 13 Ways to Make Google Adwords Work for You – Many companies are taking advantage of Google’s advertising program to make money online.  However, the majority of advertisers are wasting money because they don’t pay attention to some simple steps you can take to increase your Adwords ROI.  Follow these 13 strategies and I guarantee better results.
  3. Hire a Social Media Manager and Start Talking – This post related to news that many companies had started using social media to interact with customers.  Though this is a good thing, and a trend that should continue to grow, there are ways that you can approach the social web to make the whole experience more worth your while.
  4. Steve Jobs to Take Over at GM – TechCrunch ran an article with an open letter to President Obama, explaining that if the auto industry is to regroup and revitalize itself, they should look to innovative leaders like Steve Jobs.  I posted a follow up with thoughts and explaination, backing the controversial article.
  5. Where is our News Going? – This post was interesting, because when I wrote it I was not sure what kind of response it would get.  It is a commentary about the lack of power that major news organizations have nowadays, and some possible suggestions that many people have offered and questioned that could help out those news organizations looking to move forward.

Moving forward, I hope to continue at the pace we have built up over the first three months of the year.  I will continue to post 3-4 new articles each week, and welcome all guest posts.  Just email me your ideas and we can get started.  Thanks again to all my readers and subscribers.

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Posted by Zach Heller

Madness? A New Spin on Sports Betting

March 20, 2009

centsportsA longstanding controversy, the art of sports betting has been around as long as people have been playing sports.  And as the internet made gambling from anywhere in the world at any time an effortless, habit forming task, the controversy spread.  What is legal?

The sheer legality of gambling makes it appealing.  As I have said in the past, even negative publicity gets people’s attention.  And if you get their attention, you’re winning the battle.

Now, imagine you can take the concept of sports betting, and make it legal in some way.  Then, say you manage to do that and offer it online, where anyone with a computer and internet access can get to it, anytime.  Sounds like a pretty innovative way to start a business.

Well there are two websites of mention that are doing this, and seem to be doing it well.

First, there’s ESPN.com.  Their website has undergone a massive transformation over the past couple of months, with a clear focus on driving advertising dollars and boosting web traffic.  One very interesting way they have done this is by creating a “Streak for the Cash” contest.

Basically, Streak for the Cash offers up various sporting events that users can “bet” on by selecting the winners.  The first person to collect 25 wins in a row, wins $1 Million.  And it’s free to play.  What this does is brings people to the site over and over again throughout the course of the day/week/month that this contest is active.  The more hits they get, the more ads they can serve, the more money they’ll bring in.

Second, there’s a site most people are not as familiar with, CentSports.com.  I was introduced to CentSports through a friend who had gotten involved and was enjoying the experience.  Immediately I was intrigued.

CentSports operates like a traditional sports betting site, except that you cannot gamble with your own money, making it completely legal.  You open an account, and you get $0.10.  That 10 cents is yours to bet with on whatever you want.  You can build up a large bankroll over time, and whenever you go broke, they’ll put 10 cents back into your account.

Here’s the catch, even though the money you are using is completely free, you can cash out for real money once you get to a certain value.  They have tricky cash out rules, and you have to play for awhile to build up enough money to cash out, but its all very real.

How do they do this? Ads.  Companies have been quick to buy ads on the site, which get displayed with the user’s permission, and often.  The money from these ads supports the weekly payouts to “betters”, and keep the site going.  As the site gets more popular, the ads will definitely continue to get more valuable.

Both of these are examples of websites that are looking to capitalize on the popularity of gambling in a new way.  Make it free (which also means legal) and support yourself with ads.  We’ve seen this model work in many industries, and it looks to be a winning formula here as well.

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Posted by Zach Heller

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